


Absence makes the heart grow fonder

by kythen



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Childhood Friends, Gender Confusion, Getting Together, KuroDai Week, KuroDai Week 2019, M/M, and discovers that he isn't as straight as he thought, kuroo goes on a journey of self-discovery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-03-01 12:15:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18800155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kythen/pseuds/kythen
Summary: Kurodai Week 2019 Day 7:Just Married /Childhood FriendsWhen Kuroo was a young boy, he lived in Miyagi and loved a girl with beautiful brown eyes and a smile like the sun. Fast forward eight years and when Kuroo’s father takes him back to Miyagi on a business trip, Kuroo jumps at the chance to reconnect with his first love—only to find out that his first love isn’t a girl at all.





	Absence makes the heart grow fonder

Some of Kuroo's earliest childhood memories are of his old house in Miyagi with its creaking floors and walls, a green park and its brightly coloured playground, and a girl with the most beautiful brown eyes he had ever seen. He doesn't remember her name—because what were proper names to kids their age—but he remembers what he used to call her and what she used to call him, endearing little childhood nicknames that he hasn’t used in forever.

He remembers a promise too and the feelings that came with it—the sticky anxiety that had clung to the back of his shirt, the fear that he was saying something wrong, that he was being too forward, that she didn't like him the way he liked her, and rising above all that, a brimming, fluttery sensation in his chest that he would only later learn the name for.

 _"Will you marry me when we grow up?"_ young Kuroo had asked, gazing into her bright brown eyes and wishing that they could stay like that forever.

She was a pretty little thing, with short hair and a round, chubby face, dressed perpetually in shirts and shorts like the rest of the boys. Kuroo liked her eyes the best, but he also liked her smile and the way her missing tooth showed a gap in between her pearly whites. When he had asked, she had been squatting in the grass, combing the ground for colourful flowers and anything else of interest, and Kuroo had been on his knees and his butt, holding a bright yellow flower out to her, the best thing he could find for her that day.

He can't remember her reply, but he knows that he had been happy with her until his mother passed away and his dad decided to move back to Tokyo to raise Kuroo with his grandparents. There, Kuroo stayed for eight years, growing up from a boy with dirt on his knees to a towering teenaged boy. He hasn't been to Miyagi in eight years and he considers himself more city than country, his once drawling accent smoothing out into sharper tones and his feet accustomed to moving about in the bustling traffic of Tokyo.

He doesn't think about Miyagi and the girl all that much these days when his life is all here, but one day, his dad brings it up again over dinner.

"Say, Tetsu," Kuroo's father muses, "do you remember the Sawamuras?"

"The who?" Kuroo asks absently, picking the bones out of his fish.

"The Sawamuras. You know, our neighbours when we lived in Miyagi," his father prompts.

"That was ages ago. I was what, six?"

"We moved when you were about eight," his father confirms. "It's no wonder you don't remember them. But you used to be especially close to the Sawamuras' eldest child, who was your age. Do you remember that?"

"Dai-chan," Kuroo blurts out, her name springing forth in his head immediately and slipping out of his mouth. He remembers brown eyes, a bright smile, and a grubby little hand in his. He remembers being in love, as much as a six or seven or eight year old child could love. He had cried when they moved because he missed her the moment his father had bundled him up in his car and drove off to a place far away that was now his home. He was going to marry her when they both grew up.

"That's the name!" his father exclaims, beaming. "You were always going on about marrying Dai-chan and how pretty Dai-chan was and how Dai-chan gave you a flower or a rock or even a snail, that one time."

"Why are you bringing that up now?" Kuroo groans, scuffing his feet under the table, embarrassed.

He had been a kid then and the world had been a wide, wonderful place with Dai-chan by his side. It is unfair for his father to bring that up now when Kuroo is almost seventeen and all grown out of his childhood affections. He doesn't even know what Dai-chan looks like now, if she had grown up still liking volleyball or if she had taken up other interests in his absence. She is all the way in Miyagi, left behind with all the other beloved childhood memories he has of their countryside home, and Kuroo is here in Tokyo, with his dinner to eat and his homework to do later.

"Well, you see," his father explains, finally getting to the point, "my company wants to send me to Miyagi for a little business trip and since your summer vacation is starting soon, I was thinking that you could come with me for a week or so. You know, just to jog those childhood memories. See how much Miyagi has changed since we were last there. I believe I still have the Sawamuras' number so we could even drop by to see how they're doing. Don't you want to know what your childhood crush looks like now?" He smirks, the patented Kuroo smirk, with flashing teeth and wicked eyes.

Kuroo scowls. He does want to go to Miyagi, but not if his dad keeps ribbing him about Dai-chan. He isn't embarrassed of her and his past affections for her, but he doesn't want to embarrass her if his father keeps bringing it up while they are there. For all he knows, she might have a boyfriend now and she might not appreciate having dumb childhood crushes from the past being brought up.

"Even if _you_ don't, Dai-chan wants to know how you are," Kuroo's father continues casually, producing a scrap of paper from out of nowhere. "I might have an email address here that the Sawamuras gave to me when I talked to them over the phone last week."

"Give it to me." Kuroo lunges for it so quickly he almost flings himself across the table, surprising himself with how eager he is to know what Dai-chan's email address is.

"It's all yours." Kuroo's father relinquishes the scrap of paper to him all too easily, with a knowing grin on his face. "Maybe you should talk to Dai-chan before we go to Miyagi."

And that is how Kuroo ends up sitting cross-legged on his bed at night instead of tackling his homework, staring intently at the email address scribbled on the scrap of paper in his father's terrible handwriting. He hasn't thought of Dai-chan and Miyagi in ages, but the moment his father had said something, it had stirred up those dusty old memories settled at the bottom of his head. He remembers joyful days filled with giddy, bright happiness, wearing his heart for all to see and wrapping it up and giving it to the girl of his dreams.

His last girlfriend had been so different from his first love. She had long hair while Dai-chan wore hers boyishly short; she ate like a bird while Dai-chan out-ate Kuroo at every meal. She eventually grew tired of Kuroo because all his time was spent on volleyball instead of her, but Dai-chan had been the one to drag Kuroo into volleyball, pulling him into forming a local team out of the neighbourhood kids. He wonders if she still likes volleyball. Her dream had been to get into the volleyball powerhouse, Karasuno High School, and by chance, Kuroo had gotten into their rival school, Nekoma High.

Well, there was only one way to find out. Kuroo takes a deep breath and plunges in, reaching for his phone. She had asked about him first so it wouldn't hurt to initiate first contact. Kuroo spends close to half an hour typing and retyping a message before he finally comes up with something that sounds familiar, but not too familiar, and casual, but not too casual.

**From: Tetsurou**

**Hey, Dai-chan? It's been a while but this is Tetsu. You know, the boy who lived next door when we were teeny-tiny kids. I got your email address from my dad, who said he got it from your parents.**

**How have you been?**

There. It takes another fifteen minutes or so before Kuroo can muster up the courage to hit send and then he immediately puts his phone face down on his bed and walks to his study table, determined to get some work done. Just as he is in the middle of tackling a tangle of chemical equations, he hears the quiet vibration of his phone in the sheets and he almost flings his textbook out of the window while scrambling to get back to the bed.

**From: Dai-chan**

**Tetsu-kun? It's been ages since we last met! I missed you.**

**I'm doing well. I'm a second year at Karasuno High School now. Things have been hectic since I'm trying to juggle volleyball with the mid-term exams, but with summer vacation around the corner, I think I'll finally get a bit of a breather.**

**How have you been? I haven't heard from you and oji-san since you moved to Tokyo. Please give my regards and thanks to oji-san for passing on my email address to you. I'm so glad to be able to talk to you again, Tetsu-kun.**

So she did get into the high school of her choice. Kuroo tries to envision her in the Karasuno school uniform, but it is hard to when he doesn't know what she looks like now. She had always been pretty and cute and steadfast as a child and he has no doubt that she had retained all those qualities of hers as a teenager.

As he rereads her message, his eyes keep going back to the sentence she had so casually tacked on: _"I missed you."_ Reading it does funny things to his heart and it is almost as if Kuroo is seven again and looking at Dai-chan like she held cupped sunlight in her hands. Now that they are talking again, a yawning hole opens up in Kuroo's chest and he realises how much he misses her too.

**From: Tetsurou**

**So you got into the school of your dreams! How does it feel to be flying among the crows?**

**I'm glad to hear that you're still playing volleyball. You had a mean spiking arm as a kid—I would know, seeing that you spiked a ball into my face before. Multiple times. If my face looks a little different now, you would know why.**

**Funnily enough, I'm in Nekoma High. The cats and the crows, the rivals of the trash heap. Have you heard of their rivalry?**

**I've been doing fine as well. Same as you, I've been having to balance volleyball with exams. I can't wait for summer vacation to roll around, although that means practice, practice, and more practice. We're aiming to get to Nationals so we can't afford to slouch… or so I say, because I'll be heading your way during summer. Nekoma can do without me for a week and I'll make sure to get juicy intel about the Karasuno Volleyball Club while I'm there since I have insider information.**

Not five minutes after Kuroo hits send, his phone vibrates with a new message from Dai-chan.

**From: Dai-chan**

**It's been _fantastic_. Or rather, it was a struggle at first, but we'll get there eventually. You'll see us at Nationals.**

**If your face looks a little different now, it wouldn't be because of me. If you still have that awful habit of sleeping with your face buried between two pillows, I wouldn't be surprised if your face has gone completely flat. I would still be able to recognise you by that hair though, I bet.**

**Nekoma High! They've got a reputation in Tokyo. They're a good school, Tetsu-kun, and I have no doubt that you've added your own flair to their play style. And of course I've heard of the rivalry between Karasuno and Nekoma. The Battle of Trash Heap. We're going to kick. Your. Ass.**

**You _wish_ you had insider information. I'm not telling you anything. You'll just have to brace yourself for us during Nationals.**

**I can't wait for you to visit, Tetsu-kun. When you're in Miyagi, I hope that we can meet again.**

Kuroo's toes curl in delight, all homework forgotten as he burrows into his blanket. Dai-chan wants to meet him! After all this time! She still sounds as amazing as ever, their conversation flowing naturally between them even after eight years of silence. As he types a new reply to her, he wonders if she still remembers the childish promise he had made to her, the one born out of pure love and adoration for her.

 _It would be weird to bring it up, wouldn't it?_ Kuroo muses, his thumbs hovering over his phone. _Hey, Dai-chan, remember the time I asked you to marry me when we grew up? And then I didn't talk to you for eight years after that?_ It sounds silly once he puts it like that since they are both sixteen year olds now with separate lives of their own. Kuroo chuckles and he types out a simpler reply to her message, trying to find out more about the current Dai-chan instead of dwelling on his old memories of her.

By the time Kuroo puts down his phone after chatting with her, it is way past midnight and Kuroo still has a stack of unfinished homework to rush through. But he also has a clearer impression of Dai-chan, her personality if not her looks, and he thinks, fondly, that she hasn't changed one bit. Maybe she has developed a sharper tongue, but so has Kuroo and he laughs at the jabs she sends back in response to his.

Kuroo's father had said that his business trip would be in the first week of summer vacation, which is a month from now, and Kuroo grins as he throws himself down onto his bed, hugging his pillow close as he thinks about meeting Dai-chan again.

\---

Miyagi is as hot and muggy as Tokyo in summer and Kuroo wilts in the sun, trying to locate the barest scrap of shade as his father and him trudge to the hotel they are staying at for the week. The Sawamuras had offered to put them up in a guest room, but Kuroo's father had politely declined, telling them that they didn't want to impose on them. Kuroo had been secretly grateful for that because if his meeting with Dai-chan doesn't go well, it would be awkward to continue seeing her under the same roof. Even if it _does_ go well, the thought of staying with Dai-chan under the same roof for an entire week makes Kuroo blush. He is a healthy sixteen year old boy and Dai-chan is a healthy sixteen year old girl whom Kuroo _might_ or might not have lingering affections for. Perhaps that was why his father had turned down the Sawamuras' offer in the first place.

**From: Tetsurou**

**Miyagi is _hot_. Why didn't you warn me, Dai-chan? I'm melting into a puddle of goo.**

**From: Dai-chan**

**I thought you remembered—or have you become that much of a city boy that you can't stand long hours in the sun?**

**From: Tetsurou**

**Volleyball is an indoor sport. People actually have air conditioners in Tokyo, Dai-chan.**

**From: Dai-chan**

**Those are the words of the weak. What, you don't go for long runs around the neighbourhood and up and down the hills?**

**From: Tetsurou**

**In Tokyo? I'll more likely get mowed down by a car or something if we did all our training outside. Besides, unlike _some_ schools, we can afford indoor equipment.**

**From: Dai-chan**

**Note to self: Nekoma's weakness is their ability to avoid incoming traffic. Bring a car and Saeko-san to the match against them.**

Kuroo laughs and puts his phone aside as Kuroo's father checks in to the hotel. The sweat on his back has dried in the air conditioning and Kuroo sighs in relief as cool air washes over him. Like Kuroo, his father is dressed in light clothing, but he has to put on a stuffy suit for his meeting later at his company's branch office and Kuroo doesn't envy him one bit.

"Were you talking to Dai-chan?" Kuroo's father asks as they step into the lift, dragging their luggage bags behind them. "You've got that look on your face again."

"What look?" Kuroo touches his hand to his face, peering into the shiny mirrored lift wall.

"Something like… youthful innocence." Kuroo's father smirks. "Ah, to be young again like the both of you."

"We're just rekindling our friendship," Kuroo says defensively.

"Did you ask if Dai-chan remembers your marriage proposal? Because I do. And the Sawamuras do too. It was tooth-rottingly sweet how in love the both of you were."

"We were kids," Kuroo huffs, stepping out of the lift the moment the doors open onto their level. "Give it a rest, dad. We aren't like that—we barely even know each other now."

"Sure, whatever you say, Tetsu." His father chuckles, but finally, mercifully, drops the subject.

As they settle into their room, his father wastes no time in pulling out his business suit and taking a quick shower to refresh himself, leaving Kuroo to explore the room lazily and lie down spread-eagled on his bed. He messages Dai-chan a few more times before she gets too busy and has to put her phone down. Lying flat on his back with a summer-induced lethargy creeping up on him, Kuroo shuts his eyes and tries to imagine what Dai-chan would look like now.

Would she have short or long hair? Kuroo prefers girls with long hair himself, but he thinks Dai-chan would be cute enough to pull off short hair with her round face. How tall would she be? They had been the same height as kids, but Kuroo had stretched and broke past the 180cm mark recently so he thinks it would be hard for her to keep up. It would be endearing if she was shorter than him, not by a lot, but just enough for Kuroo to bend down and—

Kuroo presses his palms against his eyes, starbursts exploding behind his closed eyelids as he steams with embarrassment. His memories of her are wispy at best, dredged up from under eight years' worth of memories. He must be mixing her up with his last girlfriend, who had been a full head shorter than him and needed Kuroo to bend over to kiss her.

What if Dai-chan had a boyfriend? He hadn't asked her if she was seeing anyone, but she didn't ask him either, so the topic had never been broached. _It would be no problem,_ Kuroo thinks firmly. After all, they were only friends and when he meets Dai-chan again, he wouldn't be jumping right into confessing.

"When are you meeting Dai-chan later?" Kuroo's father asks out of the blue and Kuroo jumps. Engrossed in his thoughts of Dai-chan, he hadn't heard his father come out of the bathroom.

Kuroo sits up on his bed, crossing his lanky legs in front of him. "Karasuno is having their volleyball practice now so I'll meet Dai-chan after that. We're meeting in front of the school gates."

Kuroo's father nods sagely as he loops his tie over his neck. "Ah, youth. That's a classic meeting spot for a young couple. I'm not sure what time I'll be done tonight so you'll be on your own for dinner." Taking his wallet out of his pocket, he pulls out a bill and hands it to Kuroo. "Treat Dai-chan to something nice."

"We're not—" Kuroo opens his mouth to argue.

"I know, I know." Kuroo's father raises his hands quickly. "Do it for me. Treat Dai-chan to something nice for me."

Kuroo shuts his mouth grudgingly and slips the bill into his wallet. It would be nice to treat Dai-chan to something nice after all this time. He remembers how much she loved to eat, getting excited whenever it was dinnertime or snack time. His father used to treat them to meat buns when he came to pick Kuroo up from the park and he remembers how Dai-chan could polish off one whole meat bun by herself and still have room for dinner.

"Well then, I'm off." His father picks up his leather satchel, dressed smartly from head to toe.

Kuroo waves at him from the bed. "Remember to eat something in between your meetings."

"I'm sure they'll take a break to feed me sometime," Kuroo's father says laughingly as he leaves the room.

Left on his own, Kuroo lies back flat on the bed with a contented sigh. The air conditioning on his face, a soft bed at his back, and a whole week to do nothing but wander. He is missing out on a week of volleyball practice, but he justifies to himself that he needs the break. He will just have to work doubly hard when he gets back.

He checks his phone. No new messages from Dai-chan. It is two in the afternoon now and Dai-chan's practice ends at four. Kuroo has two hours to kill before he meets Dai-chan at her school—one hour if he factors in the travel time. Kuroo mulls over his options for a moment before he springs up and out of bed. He might as well get an early head start.

\---

Torono Town is located further away from the heart of Sendai than he remembers. It is still as quiet and tranquil as it was in his memories, but the shops look unfamiliar and Kuroo has to rely on his maps app to find his way around. Here is the old park they used to play in, the old, rusted playground equipment swapped out for a new, brightly coloured set. There is the elementary school he went to in the first and second grade, filled to the brim with laughing and shrieking children. He remembers the way back to his old home on foot, during a time when his mother had still been around, but he stops at an intersection and turns back. It is almost time for him to meet Dai-chan after all.

It is still sweltering and Kuroo's jeans adhere to his legs uncomfortably, making him wish he had worn shorts instead. He had long shed his flannel outer shirt, wrapping it around his hips instead, and his bare arms are blessedly cool as he swings them at his sides while he walks. Perspiration runs down the side of his face and neck, and Kuroo ducks into a nearby convenience store to cool off. He wonders if his cologne had held out on the way here and he takes a tentative sniff at himself, only to look up and see the lady across the counter raising a judgemental eyebrow at him.

 _What am I doing?_ Kuroo leaves the store hastily, his face burning in embarrassment. He smells fine. He looks fine, if not a bit sweaty. He wipes his clammy palms against his shirt. _Why am I so nervous?_

Kuroo arrives at the school gates fifteen minutes early and resigns himself to loitering before the school like a suspicious-looking character. There aren't as many students around now that school is out for summer vacation and they leave through the front gate in trickles of twos and threes. Even from outside the school walls, he can hear the baseball team hard at work in the field, but he can't hear the familiar squeaking of sport shoes and thudding of volleyballs no matter how much he strains.

His phone buzzes in his pocket, the tone almost blending in with the cicadas crying out all around him, and Kuroo glances at it.

**From: Dai-chan**

**Practice is done for the day. I'll see you outside?**

**From: Kuroo**

**I'm already here. Take your time.**

After that, every set of footsteps has Kuroo swivelling his head to stare at the approaching students, trying to look for a spark of recognition, a pair of warm brown eyes and a smile like the sun. Some students balk once they catch him staring, muttering among themselves as they give him a wide berth, and some of them blush and quicken their footsteps, giggling at his attention. None of them come towards Kuroo and Kuroo idly flips his phone over in his hand, waiting for some sign of Dai-chan in person or on his phone.

A group of girls files out through the front gates and Kuroo catches sight of the print on the back of their sports jackets, which reads "Karasuno Volleyball Club". His heartbeat quickens and he stares especially hard, trying to guess which girl could be Dai-chan. A tall blond catches him looking and she looks wary, nudging the arm of the girl next to her. A ripple passes through the group of volleyball girls and they throw tentative glances at him as they rush by before Kuroo can even think about approaching them to ask about Dai-chan.

Was that all of them? Dai-chan had mentioned that she was on the volleyball team but none of them had been her. Should he call her? Kuroo bounces on the balls of his feet nervously, ducking his head to peer through the school gate.

A girl dressed in the same pitch-black volleyball jacket as the earlier group of girls hurries in his direction, adjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulder. She has a cute round face, brown flyaway hair that bounces as she walks, and her eyes are a light brown as she looks up and catches sight of Kuroo at the gate.

"Dai-chan?" Kuroo blurts out as she draws close to him, stepping out hurriedly in her path.

The girl comes to screeching stop, her eyes wide and confused as she looks up at Kuroo. "Excuse me?"

"Um, I'm Tetsu. Kuroo Tetsurou," Kuroo introduces himself awkwardly, trying not to fidget, "and I was wondering if you were Dai-chan?"

Judging by the growing bemusement on her face, she isn't and Kuroo feels like a creep for approaching her out of the blue.

"I, uhhh… You're from the volleyball club, aren't you?" Kuroo rambles on, trying to explain himself. "I'm supposed to be meeting a childhood friend from the Karasuno Volleyball Club. Her name is…" Kuroo's head blanks out for a moment as he realises that he doesn't know what her first name is. Thankfully, he does know her family name. "Sawamura—"

"Michimiya!"

Another flock of black Karasuno jackets come swarming in his direction, the volleyball boys this time, and a boy detaches himself from the group to come jogging towards them. He looks sturdy and reliable, with short cropped hair and concern in his brown eyes as he assesses the situation between Kuroo and the girl. Is he her boyfriend? Kuroo takes a step back, hoping that there isn't going to be an ugly confrontation between them.

Even as the boy stops beside the girl, his eyes are still trained on Kuroo, and Kuroo meets his gaze squarely. He hadn't been doing anything wrong, even though he is acutely aware of how suspicious he must have been looking.

"Sawamura," the girl says in surprise, looking between the boy and Kuroo.

"Are you okay—"

"Yeah, I'm looking for Sawamura—"

Kuroo's voice overlaps with the boy's and they both stop, trying to register what just happened. The boy tilts his head in a quizzical manner as he stares at Kuroo, the corner of his mouth twitching as something shifts in his brown eyes.

"Um, he's Sawamura." The girl gestures towards the boy, looking unsure.

Kuroo stares. "That's a guy."

"I'm both Sawamura _and_ a guy," the boy says drily, folding his arms. "Those two things are not mutually exclusive."

"But the Sawamura I'm looking for is a girl," Kuroo explains, waving his arms about. "A second year in the volleyball club? Dai-chan?"

The girl looks more confused than ever as she whips her head between the boy and Kuroo and gestures towards the boy again. "Sawamura… Daichi?"

"Huh?" Kuroo blurts out.

The boy sighs. "Thanks, Michimiya. You should go and catch up with the other girls. I'll take it from here." He flicks his eyes up at Kuroo and up close, Kuroo realises that they are a beautiful shade of brown, the same kind of brown that Kuroo had fallen in love with, now flecked with annoyance. "I didn't realise that your memory was this bad, Tetsu-kun."

As the girl trots off, throwing a curious look over her shoulder as she leaves, Kuroo stares at the boy again. This can't be right. The Dai-chan he remembers from his childhood had been clearly a girl. She was pretty and cute and had a smile that mesmerised Kuroo. The boy before him is… admittedly handsome but looks one word away from scowling at Kuroo.

"Dai… chan…?" Kuroo asks tentatively.

"Tetsu-kun," the boy says patiently.

Kuroo's head spins. "Weren't you a girl?"

"I've always been a boy," Dai-chan—Daichi? Sawamura??—says, a furrow forming between his brows. "Did you think I was a girl the whole time?"

Kuroo's mouth opens and closes soundlessly before he croaks out a meek, "Um. Yes."

"How on _earth_ do you make that mistake?"

How on earth indeed. No matter how Kuroo looks at the Dai-chan before him, he is definitely a hundred percent male. He even looks manlier than Kuroo with his sideburns and his chiselled jaw and his sturdy bulk, a far cry from the pretty little thing he had been as a child. But then again, Dai-chan had never been delicate, hardy even as a child, and the more Kuroo looks, the more he can see how the Dai-chan of his childhood had grown up into the boy standing before him.

Kuroo turns bright scarlet. Now would be a fantastic time for the earth to open up under his feet and swallow him whole. "You were very pretty. Even the mothers used to coo about how cute you were so I just thought…"

"I dressed the same as you and I'm pretty sure my mom referred to me as her son in front of you at least once," Daichi says, looking exasperated. "Tetsu-kun, I used the same _washroom_ as you."

"Look," Kuroo says defensively, "I never claimed to be smart."

The corners of Daichi's mouth twitch. "I'm pretty sure I can find a message on my phone of you claiming otherwise."

"Why didn't you ever correct me?"

"How would I know that you thought I was a girl?"

"Why didn't my _dad_ ever correct me?"

"Does he think I'm a girl too?" Daichi looks grim.

"I actually think he was hoping that you would be my girlfriend." Kuroo laughs. "I can't wait to see the look on his face when he finds out why we won't be getting together."

"Oh." A shadow flickers across Daichi's face and his smile looks a little tight as he says lightly, "Well, since you've discovered that you were wrong all along and I'm not a girl, is this where we go our separate ways?"

Kuroo grins at him. "Don't be silly. I came all this way to see you, regardless of whether you're a boy or a girl. Let's find someplace to catch up. Do you still like sweet things? We could go to a café."

"You remembered?" Daichi asks, surprised.

"Hard to forget when you would steal my cream puffs and cakes whenever the adults bought treats for us," Kuroo teases him. Dai-chan might have ended up being a boy all along, but the banter that flows between them is still natural and comfortable.

"You _gave_ them to me," Daichi huffs.

 _Because I loved seeing the smile on your face when you were eating them,_ Kuroo bites back his retort. He doesn't want to weird Daichi out, especially since they are both sixteen year old guys and saying mushy things like that between them, even if they were childhood friends, was bound to make things awkward.

But it wasn't as if Daichi had suddenly turned into a guy over the years when Kuroo was the one who had made a mistake in the first place. In the back of Kuroo's head, he wonders what Daichi thought of Kuroo's proposal when they were kids. He has sunlight-dappled memories from the childhood they spent together, but it had been long enough that he doesn't remember specific details. Had Daichi been weirded out after being proposed to by another boy?

"Tetsu-kun?" Daichi peers into his face and Kuroo startles as he realises that he had been drifting off mid-conversation. This close, Kuroo notices that Daichi is shorter than him, his head tilted back slightly to look up into Kuroo's eyes. The top of Daichi’s head only comes up to Kuroo’s eyes, his big brown eyes upturned towards Kuroo, and it is dizzyingly cute. _Just enough to bend down and—_

Kuroo's face steams as that wayward train of thought from earlier returns to hit him again. He is confusing Daichi with his ex-girlfriend again—or no, even worse, confusing his mistaken memories of a girl Dai-chan with his ex-girlfriend again. He had worked himself up, imagining Dai-chan all grown up as a sixteen year old girl, and he would be lying if he said that he wasn't hoping for _something_ to happen between the both of them. A spark, a rekindled promise, the blossoming of a romance between them that was rooted in their feelings for each other as children. None of that is going to happen with Daichi, who oozes masculinity just by standing still. His rescue of Michimiya just now had been something straight out of a shoujo manga and Kuroo can only imagine how popular Daichi must be with the girls. Maybe he was even dating Michimiya.

"Is the heat getting to you or something?" Daichi asks worriedly, still looking at Kuroo. "I know you complained about the heat earlier and you've been waiting out here all this time."

Kuroo wipes his forehead with the back of his hand and grimaces as it comes away tacky with sweat. It _is_ hot and now that he has met with Daichi, there isn't any reason for him to be standing out in the sun longer than necessary. "I'm fine. Maybe just a bit roasted from walking in the sun."

Daichi reaches out, almost as if to take Kuroo's hand, but then he swings his arm back, his face tense with embarrassment. Kuroo politely pretends not to notice that aborted action, sympathising with him. They held hands all the time as children and he understands the instinctive urge to just act on what felt natural to him.

"Let's get out of the sun," Daichi says, gripping his bag strap instead and offering Kuroo a small smile. "There's a place I like to go to that's nearby."

\---

"One black coffee, one café au lait, and a Mont Blanc cake please," Daichi tells the waiter. As the waiter leaves, Daichi looks back at Kuroo. "Are you sure you don't want anything to eat?"

"It's fine. I had a heavy lunch after reaching Miyagi. Plus I feel like the heat has sapped my appetite." Kuroo sighs as he lounges in his chair, trying to absorb all the air conditioning into his body.

"It's no wonder you’re such a beanpole if you're eating so little all the time," Daichi comments. "I mean, you were a skinny kid, but since you mentioned that you did weight training as part of your volleyball practice, I thought you would be a lot bigger."

"Hey, I eat a good amount." Kuroo sits up in his seat indignantly. Daichi might be built with a sturdy upper torso and firm, muscled legs, but Kuroo is pretty sure that he doesn't lose out to Daichi in the muscle department. It is only because Kuroo is taller that his muscles are stretched out along his lanky frame, that's all. "What about you? A single Mont Blanc and black coffee? That's almost moderate for you. What happened to my Dai-chan with the sweet tooth?"

Daichi makes a face. "It's hard to have a sweet tooth when you aren't a kid."

Kuroo studies Daichi. Maybe he wasn't all solid muscle under his clothes as Kuroo had thought, but even if he had a little bit of pudge, Kuroo thinks it wouldn't detract from his good looks. He remembers Daichi's chubby cheeks as a kid and it had been endearingly cute.

"You look fine to me. Anyway, wouldn’t it be better to indulge a little more at this age? It’s only going to get harder the older you get." Kuroo idly peruses the menu. From what he remembers, a parfait seems a little more to Daichi's tastes. Maybe even a whole stack of strawberry-laden pancakes. Kuroo wouldn't have minded splitting a box toast with a scoop of ice cream himself. He is surprised that Daichi didn't ask.

"Easy for you to say. You look like the type who doesn't get fat at all even if you eat a lot," Daichi says enviously.

He is right and Kuroo smirks, which is all the answer that Daichi needs.

The waiter drops by with their orders and Kuroo sneaks glances at Daichi as he sorts out who gets what. Daichi's hair is even shorter than it had been when he was a child and Kuroo thinks it suits him. Gone is the baby softness that rounded out his face and accentuated his big brown eyes, and his expressions are now laced with a sharpness that matches the wit he sees in their exchanged messages.

Daichi pushes the tall glass of iced café au lait in Kuroo's direction before settling down with his coffee and cake. Without a word, he digs into the cake with a silver fork, helping himself to a generous bite, and the moment it melts in his mouth, Kuroo sees Daichi's eyes brighten up and pure happiness bloom in his face as he savours the sweet treat.

Suddenly, they are six or seven again, and Kuroo has just insisted that Dai-chan has his share of the roll cake or apple pie or ice cream. Dai-chan always does such a bad job of declining Kuroo, her—his—eyes fixed on the treat even as he tries to refuse Kuroo. In the end, Kuroo's portion always inevitably finds its way into Dai-chan's stomach. It is nostalgic, seeing Daichi savour his cake while radiating happiness, and Kuroo's stomach flutters as he watches Daichi help himself to another bite, looking just as contented with his second bite as his first.

Daichi's eyes flick up as he notices Kuroo's gaze on him and he swallows his mouthful before asking, "Do you want some?"

"Is it good?" Kuroo asks, his mouth suddenly dry, and he licks his lips as he thinks that it would be nice to have something sweet now.

Daichi cuts a piece for Kuroo—almost imperceptibly smaller than his portion, Kuroo notices with some amusement—and holds the fork out to him. Kuroo reaches out to take the fork from him, but a whimsical instinct overtakes him and Kuroo finds himself leaning in to eat the morsel of cake straight from the fork that Daichi holds out to him.

"Oh, it's good," Kuroo mumbles as the smooth chestnut flavour spreads over his tongue.

Daichi retracts his fork and pulls the plate closer to him defensively. "You can't have any more of mine."

"Stingy."

"Get your own."

Kuroo sucks absently on the inside of his cheek, licking the sweetness from his lips. "Why should I get my own when I can mooch off yours?"

Daichi snorts. "Spoken like someone who mooches off his girlfriends all the time."

"Hey, I pay for all my dates. I'll have you know that I'm a perfect gentleman," Kuroo says loftily.

"Is that so?" Daichi teases, with a playful light in his eyes. "You sure have grown up well, Tetsu-kun."

"You make it sound like I was a horrible kid." Kuroo pouts.

"You weren't," Daichi says, prodding at his cake meditatively, keeping his eyes on his fork. "If not, I wouldn't have wanted anything to do with you today."

A smile splits Kuroo's face as he basks in the almost-compliment from Daichi. "You weren't horrible either, Dai-chan."

"Weren't horrible?" Daichi says slyly, looking up from his cake with a wicked gleam in his brown eyes. "Didn't _someone_ say that he wanted to marry me when we grew up?"

Kuroo flushes. He didn't expect Daichi to bring that up at all—even if it had been the largest thing occupying Kuroo's mind ever since his reunion with Daichi through text messages. Now that it has been established that they are both very, very male, he thought that Daichi would prefer to put it behind them as another embarrassing memory of the past. "You remember that?"

Daichi's mouth twists wryly. "Don't worry, I won't hold you to that promise since you thought I was a girl then. We were just kids then. You probably didn't know what you were doing."

Kuroo's heart squirms uncomfortably in his chest and he takes a long sip of his café au lait to drown out the sensation. They had been young, yes, but to have his feelings so casually dismissed by Daichi like that doesn't sit right with him. It isn't as if he had been pining for Dai-chan all these years when he had only remembered Dai-chan and his promise a month before coming back to Miyagi, but it doesn't mean that those feelings he had for Dai-chan weren't real either.

What had he expected out of this meeting with Dai-chan? Definitely not a relationship, when they had only just begun to rediscover each other as teenagers. Talking to Daichi makes him happy and he enjoys their banters, looking forward to Daichi's messages all the time. He still likes Daichi so much, there is no doubt about that, but when Kuroo looks across the table and sees Daichi, his head feels like a roaring mess.

The boy across the table is all grown out of his sweet, pretty Dai-chan, looking nothing like all the girls Kuroo thought Dai-chan might grow up to be, and yet, Dai-chan is still there, in the warm depths of his eyes and the sheer bliss he gets from eating something delicious. He hasn't changed one bit and it all makes sense how Dai-chan could grow up into the strong, stalwart sixteen year old boy across from him. Kuroo was the one who had it wrong all this time.

Kuroo feigns a laugh. His café au lait sits cold in the pit of his stomach as he says, "I was a pretty dumb kid, wasn't I? Mistaking you for a girl, proposing to you, and then leaving for Tokyo after all that."

"If I had known where you were then, I'd have broken off our engagement." Daichi grins at him. "I cried my eyes out when you left."

"Me too. I didn't want to leave Miyagi." _I didn't want to leave you,_ Kuroo thinks.

"I'm glad you came back though, Tetsu-kun." Daichi gives him a small smile. "Even though I'm not exactly who you thought I was."

"That's totally on me." Kuroo flushes again, still embarrassed about his dumb mistake.

Daichi laughs and it is a bright sound, warmed by his current natural baritone. Kuroo likes how it sounds. As he gazes at Daichi, with a familiar sensation rising in his chest, he thinks about how much he still likes Daichi.

\---

The first thing that Kuroo's dad says as he throws open the door of their hotel room is, "So how did your meeting with Dai-chan go?"

His dad looks positively gleeful, even though his face is lined with exhaustion from work. It is well into the night, the glowing figures on the clock reading 10:45pm, and Kuroo is assuming the facedown position on the bed, even though he isn't sleeping yet. He hasn't messaged Daichi since they parted at the café and no new messages have come in from him either. Kuroo tries not to think too much of it—maybe Daichi is busy with schoolwork or working out or playing with his younger siblings—but for some reason, he feels like their face-to-face encounter might have something to do with the abrupt silence between them.

Kuroo rolls over onto his back, squinting suspiciously at his dad. He wouldn't put it past his dad to have kept the truth of Dai-chan's gender a secret from him while ribbing him all this while. Or maybe he truly didn't know that Dai-chan had been a boy all along. With his dad, Kuroo can never tell.

"Tell me honestly, dad," Kuroo demands, "did you know that Dai-chan was a boy?"

His father shoots him an incredulous look. "Well, yeah. What, did you think that Dai-chan was a girl?"

The look on Kuroo's face says it all.

" _Tetsu._ " His father looks torn between amusement and horror, but by the way a corner of his mouth is twitching, Kuroo can tell that the former is winning. "I know that Dai-chan was a seriously adorable kid, but seriously?"

"How was I supposed to know?" Kuroo says defensively, feeling like a dumbass for the second time in a day.

"For starters, you used the same washroom," his father explains, trying to put it as delicately as possible. "Not to be crass, but I thought you would have at least seen his—"

" _DAD._ " Kuroo buries his face in his hands, mortified. "Don't talk about Dai-chan like that. _Please._ "

His father shrugs. "It's the truth, kiddo. What, did you just close your eyes and face the wall whenever your beloved walked into the washroom?"

Kuroo falls face-first onto the bed and tries to suffocate himself with a pillow, his face steaming to the top of his ears.

His father walks over to ruffle his hair. "Geez, you're adorable, Tetsu. So, how was Dai-chan?"

"He's very manly," Kuroo mumbles into his pillow.

Kuroo's father laughs. "It must have been a shock for you to meet with your childhood sweetheart when you were expecting a cute girl and got a hulking lad instead."

"Dai-chan's still cute," Kuroo continues mumbling into his pillow, "and I'm taller than him so he isn't that hulking. He still likes sweet stuff and has a nice laugh and his eyes haven't changed at all."

"So you're saying that you're still in love with him?" his father puts in.

"I'm not gay, dad."

"Well, you're not exactly straight either from the sounds of it, son."

Kuroo squawks into his pillow, ripping his face away from its plush surface in sheer embarrassment. "I had girlfriends!"

"Your first crush was, and is still, a boy." His father sits down on the edge of the other bed, shrugging nonchalantly. "I'm just saying, Tetsu, maybe if you looked past Dai-chan's manliness, you'd find that there are still many, many things you like about that boy."

There _are_ still so many things Kuroo likes about Daichi. He liked Daichi before he realised he was a boy and he liked him when they started exchanging messages and he had no clue what he looked like. Even meeting him in person hasn't diminished that glowing ember of "like" burning in his chest and Kuroo had found himself discovering more new things about Daichi to feed that flame instead of dousing it cold during that encounter.

Short hair still looks as good on Daichi as it had eight years ago and his features, which had always been pretty to Kuroo, were still there, if not fitted on a more masculine canvas. Daichi isn't hard on the eyes at all and his smile still brightens up a room, his baritone voice giving his laugh a warmth that seeps into Kuroo pleasantly. His tongue is as sharp as Kuroo's, giving him a run for his money, but he still blushes like a tomato when Kuroo manages to get one up over him. He isn't as tall as Kuroo, but from the looks of his toned arms and legs, he could probably lift Kuroo up over his head and throw him a fair distance—and somehow the thought of it doesn't turn Kuroo off as much as he thought it would.

"I like his manliness," Kuroo blurts out after a moment of extended thinking about those thick arms and legs and what they could do to him.

"There you go. Not straight at all," his father says pointedly.

"Okay, I might not be that straight after all," Kuroo says, keeping it surprisingly cool for someone who just redefined their sexual orientation, "but what about Dai-chan?"

"Tetsu," his father says carefully, "I don't mean to assume since I haven't met sixteen-year-old Dai-chan, but he really, really liked you then and I'm pretty sure he was fully aware that the both of you were male. You know, even if you weren't. And he was pretty excited to talk to you again once he found out that his parents were on the phone with me, if you catch my drift."

Kuroo frowns, disbelieving. "He didn't say anything about it."

"Could he have said anything about it, Mr 'I'm Straight and Had Girlfriends Before'?" Kuroo's father raises an eyebrow at him.

Kuroo brings his hands back to his face. "I'm a goddamned _fool_."

"You're just young." Kuroo's father pauses. "And maybe a little bit on the dumber side for someone who brings back stellar grades."

"They don't teach you about what to do when your childhood love whom you thought was a girl turns out to be a boy," Kuroo groans into his palms. "And what to do when you find out that you were never as straight as you thought you were."

"That’s what your good old dad is for." Kuroo can hear the grin in his dad's voice as he adds, "By the way, the Sawamuras have invited us over for dinner tomorrow. Do you think you can make it, Tetsu?"

Kuroo wants to talk to Daichi again. He has to, or he thinks he will regret it when they leave Miyagi at the end of the week and he won't see Daichi again for who knows how long. "I'll be there. Definitely."

Kuroo's father pats his back sympathetically. "Good luck, Tetsu."

\---

Daichi is there, standing by his mom's shoulder when Kuroo and his dad show up at the Sawamuras' front door for dinner. They are early and Daichi's mom gushes about not expecting them until six and how dinner isn't ready yet.

"Is that you, Tetsu-kun?" Daichi's mom exclaims, looking Kuroo over with great interest. "You've sure grown! Look at how tall and handsome you are now. Daichi didn't tell me how much of a model you've become after he met you yesterday." She looks pointedly at her son.

"You're flattering me, oba-san." Kuroo chuckles. "I'm sure Dai-chan gave a completely accurate description of me to you yesterday."

"Well, he did get the 'tall and handsome' part right," Daichi's mom muses.

Daichi thinks he is handsome? Kuroo's eyes dart to Daichi instinctively but Daichi is keeping an impressively bland face, even though a faint bit of colour rises to his cheeks at his mom's words.

"Tetsu" —Kuroo jolts as his father clamps a hand down on his shoulder and when he looks sidelong, his father's respectable smile has stretched out into something a little more devious— "told me that Dai-chan had grown up very handsomely as well and now that I'm looking at him, I can see that he's right."

Now it is Kuroo's turn to keep his face as bland as possible even though he can feel the heat rise to his face as Daichi looks his way curiously.

"They've always been fond of each other, haven't they?" Daichi's mother sighs nostalgically. "Daichi was always going on about Tetsu-kun this and Tetsu-kun that as a child. Imagine my surprise when he came back one day and told me that Tetsu-kun had proposed to him and that he had said—"

"Mom, I'm right here," Daichi grits out through his teeth, his face as red as a tomato.

"Yes, you are, dear," Daichi's mother tells him, unfazed. She turns back to Kuroo and his father brightly. "But where are my manners? I've kept you at our front door for long enough. Please, come in."

As they take off their shoes at the genkan, Kuroo's father nudges him and murmurs under his breath, "'Tall and handsome', hm, Tetsu? Dai-chan sure has good eyes."

His father ambles off to strike up a conversation with Daichi's father before Kuroo can say a word and Kuroo quietly steams as he fumbles with the laces on his sneakers.

"Daichi, be a dear and take Tetsu-kun up to your room while I get dinner ready," Daichi's mother instructs Daichi. "You know where the tea and cups are." She disappears into the kitchen while Kuroo's father and Daichi's father head into the living room, leaving Daichi behind with Kuroo.

"Hi." Kuroo looks up at Daichi and smiles as he tries to get his sneakers off without falling over.

"Hi," Daichi says back, his lips curling up in a smile. With the colour still on his face from his earlier embarrassment, there is something almost shy about his smile.

Kuroo finally pops his sneakers off with minimal stumbling and places them neatly to the side. Daichi retrieves a tray of cups and a bottle of oolong tea from the kitchen and Kuroo follows Daichi up the stairs to a room he remembers well.

Daichi's room has definitely changed since the last time Kuroo was here. The child-sized study desk has been switched out for one that suits Daichi's current size more, the toys packed away or given to his younger siblings, and his high school uniform hangs neatly on the door of his wardrobe. The one thing that has not changed is the worn and battered volleyball sitting on a bottom shelf and Kuroo lights up as he lays his eyes on it.

Daichi had made him write his name on it before he left Miyagi and from where it sits on the shelf, Kuroo can see his chicken-scratch handwriting on it, spelling out a shaky "Tetsurou" in a child's hand. Kuroo makes a beeline for the old volleyball and he picks it up with great care, turning it around in his hands and marvelling at it.

"You kept this old thing?" Kuroo asks Daichi.

"It's full of memories," Daichi says as he puts down the tea and cups. "I'm pretty sure it might even have an imprint or two from all the times it got up close and personal with your face."

"That's got to be more valuable than a signature. After all, I do have model-like good looks, according to your mom," Kuroo preens.

Daichi snorts in disbelief, his nose scrunching up with laughter. "I wouldn't go that far."

"But you told her I was handsome, didn't you?" Kuroo asks casually, pretending to fiddle with the volleyball as he watches Daichi closely.

Daichi shrugs, his face impassive as he says, "She asked if you were handsome and I just said yes. What, would you rather I say no?" He raises an eyebrow at Kuroo.

Touché. Either Daichi has a marvellous poker face or he is really telling the truth and Kuroo was just reading too deeply into what Daichi's mother said.

"So," Daichi continues with a hint of amusement in his voice as he takes a seat on his bed, "did your father know that I was a boy all along or did he think I was a girl like you did?"

Kuroo bites back a scowl as the heat rushes to his face. Daichi isn't going to let this go anytime soon and given what a big mistake it was, Kuroo can't exactly blame him. "He knew that you were a boy all along," he admits.

Daichi chuckles. "And he never corrected you all this while?"

"I don't think he knew that I had mistaken you for a girl."

"Even after you proposed to me?" Daichi grins wickedly.

"Dad's more open-minded than I thought," Kuroo says grudgingly, remembering his conversation with his father last night and the revelations that had come out of it.

"He probably knew that you weren't serious about it. We were just kids after all," Daichi says lightly. "After all, looked how you turned out, dating girls and all in high school."

Kuroo's stomach squirms. _Not straight at all,_ his father's words from last night echo in his head. Kuroo thought that he liked girls only, but he had also thought that Dai-chan had been a girl when he really was a boy and he finds that he still likes him even after that. The summer of his sixteenth year seems to be a time of revelations, all his previous notions about himself melting away to give rise to new ones.

"What about you?" Kuroo asks nonchalantly, trying to match Daichi's tone for lightness. "You must have had plenty of girlfriends in high school. That girl from the volleyball club, is she your girlfriend? You both seem close."

"Michimiya?" Daichi looks surprised. "No, we're just friends."

"What about a current girlfriend, or an ex?" Kuroo presses on, toying with the volleyball, his eyes still trained on Daichi.

Daichi's gaze drops to the floor and he clasps his hands loosely in his lap, shaking his head. "No, I didn't have time for a girlfriend. School's busy enough as it is with studying and volleyball."

Kuroo takes a deep breath. If Kuroo was going to have revelations all over the place, he might as well try for another one. "What about a boyfriend?"

This time, Daichi's eyes dart towards him, wide and alarmed, and Kuroo meets his gaze head-on, dropping all pretence of being occupied with the volleyball in his hands. They lock eyes for a heartbeat before Daichi looks away, a flush creeping up his cheeks as he says, "Like I said, I haven't had the time."

That isn't too bad of an answer and hope hums within Kuroo. He doesn't think too much about what he is saying, his words escaping him in a rush as he pushes on, "Do you want a boyfriend?"

Daichi's cheeks grow redder but when he looks at Kuroo this time, there is a spark of something like anger in his eyes as he asks, "Tetsu-kun, are you making fun of me?"

Kuroo is taken aback. "No, of course not! What makes you think I am?"

Daichi studies him for a moment, his brown eyes glowering with heat. Then he seems to deflate, his shoulders slumping as he drops his head into his hands. "Why are you asking me this then, Tetsu-kun?" he mutters into his palms. "I knew you were a boy the whole time and I still said yes to you when you asked me to marry you so what do you think?"

 _Oh._ Kuroo's throat works as he swallows hard, trying to come up with something to say in response to that. Daichi had yes then. Kuroo had forgotten it, but it all makes sense now that he thinks about it—Daichi's eagerness to meet him again, his disappointment that Kuroo had thought he was a girl, and his shyness around Kuroo from time to time.

"I wasn't making fun of you," Kuroo finally says.

"I know," Daichi replies, his head still buried in his hands.

"I just wanted to be sure."

"That I was gay?" Daichi asks drily. "Congratulations, you've confirmed that."

"I still like you, Dai-chan," Kuroo blurts out and it comes out of him surprisingly easily despite the crisis he went through last night. He didn't get much sleep after talking to his dad, tossing and turning as he tried to figure out how to patch things up with Daichi, even though there wasn't really a visible break between them. Maybe it was because he had the time to think about it that what he has to do seems so clear to him now. "I was asking if you wanted a boyfriend because I was hoping that I still had a chance."

Daichi finally lifts his head from his hands and blinks at Kuroo, bemusement and disbelief flooding his face. "I thought we established that I wasn't the girl you thought I was."

"Yes and, I won't lie, that did throw me off," Kuroo admits, fiddling with the volleyball in his hands. "But I had a good, long think about it last night and I realised that even after meeting you in person and realising that you were a boy, there's just so much about you I like that I just can't stop liking you. You've probably knocked me firmly out of the 'straight' category." He smiles ruefully, hopefully, at Daichi.

"One night is an awfully short time to re-evaluate your sexual orientation," Daichi says drily, narrowing his eyes at him.

"It wasn't pretty." Kuroo shrugs.

"That's your fault for thinking I was a girl all along."

"No, it's your fault for being absolutely adorable. Even now," Kuroo says shamelessly, and he means it a hundred percent.

Daichi steams, reddening to the tips of his ears and proving Kuroo's point. "You're still as sappy as ever. I should have known that something was up when you kept calling me 'cute' when we were kids."

"I was just telling the truth and I still am. I made a mistake in thinking that only girls could be cute when I was a kid. I just saw you and thought that you were the loveliest person to ever cross my path." Kuroo puts the old volleyball down on Daichi's desk and crosses the room to Daichi's bed. He kneels before him and it is as if he is six or seven again, on his knees in the dirt and offering Daichi a pristine yellow flower he dug up himself. Only this time, Kuroo has nothing but his heart to offer Daichi. He gazes up at Daichi and sees sunlight in his startled eyes, clear as the day and just as brilliant. Kuroo could drown in them forever. He might have forgotten many things about his childhood, but this is one thing that he would carry with him until the end of days. "Dai-chan, I won't jump straight to marriage this time, but I'm going to ask you this: will you go out with me?"

Daichi stares at him with wide brown eyes, looking like he hasn't believed a single thing that has happened since Kuroo entered his room. Looking at him like this, there are some things that Kuroo recognises in him from their time as kids, but there are also things about him that are unfamiliar, grown during their eight years apart when Kuroo wasn’t around. Kuroo wants to know all about the things he missed out on. He wants to know all about Daichi.

"Do you really think," Daichi finally says, softly, a note of disbelief still catching in his throat, "that I would be able to say no to you after the first time I said yes? You're a _menace_ , Tetsu-kun. I don't even know how we're going to make this work when you're going back to Tokyo at the end of the week."

Laughter bubbles up in Kuroo unexpectedly, light and airy. He is so relieved. He thought that Daichi would say no because here Kuroo is again, rushing into things when he doesn't even know how Daichi feels about him. There is just something about Daichi that brings out all the stupid in him and Kuroo beams giddily up at Daichi, his cheeks almost hurting with how wide he is smiling. "We were apart for eight years but things are still fine between us so what's another one or two years apart? Plus, this time, we get to talk to and message each other."

Daichi looks unimpressed, even though there is a smile breaking through his earlier gloom, like the sun through the dark clouds. "The last time we were apart, you thought that I was a girl. Are there any other misunderstandings we should clear up before I send you off again for an unforeseeable period of time?"

"No, no, I think we're all cleared up now." Kuroo grins at him mischievously. "Unless you think that Karasuno is going to win Nationals because that's totally going to be Nekoma."

"You _wish_." Daichi laughs and his joy is so infectious that Kuroo starts laughing too.

Sometime in between their uncontrollable peals of laughter, he hears a knock on the door and Daichi's mother asking them to come down for dinner. It takes a while for them to calm down and when Kuroo looks at Daichi, with tears of mirth streaming down his cheeks, he realises that he has Daichi's hand in his. He doesn't know who reached out for who first but when Daichi looks down and sees their linked hands, he doesn't pull away, embarrassed, like he did the previous time. Daichi's hand might have grown out of its childish smallness but it still fits perfectly in Kuroo's like it did all those years ago. It is warm and steady, just like the beating of Kuroo's heart as he gazes at Daichi and sees all his love and adoration reflected back at him in the bright depths of his brown eyes.

\---

**_ Epilogue _ **

Two teams, one in red and one in black, face each other outside the gymnasium of the Karasuno General Sporks Park on a fine day in May. It has been years since the two rivals have met, Nekoma from Tokyo and Karasuno from Miyagi, and the air hums with anticipation, the fulfilment of a history long thought forgotten.

"Sawamura-san," Kuroo says formally, locking eyes with the captain at the head of the lineup of black jackets, "thank you for inviting us over for a friendly match with your team."

"Oh, no," Sawamura replies, just as formally, "we should be the ones thanking you for accepting our offer and travelling all this way to play against us."

"It's no trouble at all. After all, it's something we've been looking forward to ourselves. You have heard of the Battle of the Trash Heap, haven't you?"

"Of course I have. From what I understand, our advisor took inspiration from this famous rivalry to approach your team and you so graciously accepted for this very reason as well."

Somewhere down the line, Kuroo hears a distinctive murmur from the orange-haired shrimp who had yelled when he saw Kenma, "Why does it feel like Daichi-san and the Nekoma captain-san are going to kill each other?"

He promptly gets shushed by a senior and Kuroo has to fight to keep a straight face, biting down on his lip so that he doesn't outright grin. Daichi's poker face is as beautifully immaculate as ever and Kuroo sighs inwardly in longing as he discreetly runs his gaze down his darling's body. Daichi has grown again in the span of time they have been apart, putting on even more muscle, if that is possible, and gaining a clarity and confidence about him that only comes with experience. Kuroo had not been surprised to learn that Daichi had been named captain and looking at him head his team makes Kuroo swell with pride.

However, Daichi is still shorter than him, Kuroo notes with a touch of smugness. Even if he has grown, Kuroo has grown too, reaching his current full height of 187cm, which gives him a wonderful view of Daichi looking up at him with those determined brown eyes. _Just enough to bend down and—_

And then Daichi is walking away from him as both teams disband to head into the gymnasium. Kuroo leads his team in, looking perfectly unruffled, cool and collected on the outside, but his eyes keep going back Daichi within his team of black.

It is only after their actual match, when all the other players are mixing around and exchanging praises and numbers, that Kuroo actually manages to get close to Daichi. Discreetly, out of view from everyone, Kuroo slips his hand into Daichi's and squeezes his fingers gently. Daichi keeps a straight face, but he squeezes back and lets Kuroo lead him out of the gymnasium and into a secluded corridor, away from the rest of their teammates.

"It's so good to see you again, Dai-chan. I missed you," Kuroo murmurs happily once they are out of earshot, letting his eyes roam up and down Daichi's body before fixing on his face.

Daichi is smiling, breaking his professional captain mask, and he lets himself look at Kuroo too, his eyes glowing with happiness. "You didn't miss me for eight years. What is a year compared to that?" he teases.

"You know what they say," Kuroo tells him loftily, "'Absence makes the heart grow fonder.' And I am very fond of you, Dai-chan." He leans down into Daichi's space, grinning widely. There is a wall behind Daichi and in this narrow corridor, Kuroo thinks it wouldn't be too much of a monumental effort to back Daichi up against it and kiss him senseless.

"You sly cat, Tetsu-kun." Daichi crosses his arms across his chest, holding his ground against Kuroo as he gazes up at him with a knowing gleam in his eye. "You're trying to sweet-talk me into trouble, aren't you?"

"I'm not denying that." Kuroo shrugs nonchalantly, rolling his shoulders languidly and noting with pleasure the way Daichi's eyes catch onto that fluid movement. "It's rare that I get to see you in person so I thought we should commemorate the occasion." He tilts his head down, looking at Daichi through his lashes as he asks, "So, is it working?"

Daichi considers him for a moment, but his throat bobs noticeably in a swallow, his pink tongue darting out to wet his lips, and Kuroo is unsurprised when Daichi wraps a hand around Kuroo's wrist and drags him into the direction of a nondescript door off to the side of the corridor. They enter a tiny room that looks to be a storage room, cool and dim and most importantly, secluded.

"They won't miss us for a couple of minutes," Daichi says, his voice low and Kuroo shivers. He likes seeing new sides of Daichi, learning about him the more they deepen their relationship, and he is coming up with new adjectives all the time to describe him. Cute, pretty, steadfast, cunning, handsome, and now, alluring.

In what little sunlight that filters through the shuttered ventilation shaft, Kuroo is guided by the pull of Daichi's eyes, a clear molten brown that beckons to him as Kuroo draws Daichi to him with his hands on his hips. Daichi fits perfectly against Kuroo's body, in ways so different from the innocent touches between them as children, his face turned up to Kuroo at just the right height. Just enough to bend down and—

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Find me here: [tumblr](http://kythen.tumblr.com) / [twitter](http://twitter.com/catcrowcalls)


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